2025-2026 NBA Championship Odds & Futures Predictions

The 2025-26 NBA season will feature an unpredictable chase for the championship, as a combination of old favorites and new contenders will create nearly endless excitement. Here, I look at the NBA championship odds for the season and look at the favorites and some dark horse candidates to win the NBA Finals. You can also find my NBA Finals prediction for this season below.

Current 2025-2026 NBA Championship Odds

Odds current as of April 17, 2026

NBA Championship Favorites

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the clear favorites to win this year’s NBA championship after crushing the competition en route to the title during the 2024-25 season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has an MVP under his belt after last season and the youth of the Thunder was clearly not a concern during last year’s playoff run. As long as the Thunder stay healthy this postseason, they should be in the mix for the title until the very end once again. But that health has not been a guarantee this season, as SGA and Jalen Williams have battled injuries throughout the season.

Boston Celtics

The coaching job that Joe Mazzulla has done in Boston this season has been nothing short of incredible. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the playoffs last season, yet the Celtics are still among the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals this season. Jaylen Brown has been phenomenal and the Celtics are in the championship mix despite not having three of their five starters from last year’s team. Tatum is back on the floor for the Celtics, which could make them a true title favorite if they can work their way through the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Other NBA Championship Contenders

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have one of the best players on the planet in Nikola Jokic, and they have proven that they can win championships already with their current nucleus. An injury to Jokic has made things tougher on them in terms of seeding this year. But Jokic is back on the court and the duo of Jokic and Jamal Murray has been a headache for opponents throughout this season.

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have not won a championship since the 1970s. But they might have the best team that they’ve had since then this season. Jalen Brunson is one of the best closers in the game of basketball today. And if the Knicks can do enough on defense, they could be the last team standing and finally bring a championship back to New York.

San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are building something special. Wemby is the best defensive player in the NBA thanks to his size and length, and he is becoming a three-level scorer, while the Spurs have surrounded him by capable perimeter shooters and one of the best slashers in basketball in De’Aaron Fox. They have arrived in the Western Conference and are firmly in contention themselves.

Detroit Pistons

Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as a dark-horse team out of the Central Division. This year, it looks like the Detroit Pistons are playing that role. Cade Cunningham has been brilliant both at scoring and distributing the basketball, while Jalen Duren is becoming an elite force around the rim on both ends of the floor. Barring any injuries, the Pistons could win the East, even if they were not expected to be among the league’s elite going into this year.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken a huge swing at the title this year, bringing James Harden in at the trade deadline to replace the oft-injured Darius Garland. That move could be huge for the title hopes of the Cavs, as Harden has been a great distributor, while not taking shots away from leading scorer Donovan Mitchell.

2025-26 NBA Finals Prediction

At this point in time, I would say that the Spurs are the best value in the betting markets to win the NBA Finals. San Antonio has the biggest matchup nightmare in the sport right now in Wemby. And as long as their perimeter shots fall around the Frenchman, they could outperform the Thunder, Celtics, and everyone else to claim the NBA title.

More NBA Futures

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.